The Prayer Labyrinth
I had never heard of the prayer labyrinth, until I read in the church bulletin that we were invited to come to ubc to walk the prayer labyrinth on Maundy Thursday.
Maundy Thursday being a special day, I was very curious as to why this was a special event.
What the whole experience does is to help you relax, get centered and concentrate on God. Everything in the atmosphere said this is something Holy in order to commune and get closer to our Creator. All of it was beautiful; the incense, the candles, the music, the prayers and the labyrinth itself. I'm so glad I didn't miss it.
Part of what the handout that Hannah passed out suggests is: Prayer Walking: Walk through your home/church/community, pray in each room, for each house, on each block. Pray for what happens or just pray as you walk. Love, encourage, bear burdens, care accept, be kind, Live in harmony, forgive, be hospitable, honor, belong, be devoted to speak truthfully, teach, agree, look out, worship, lay down your lives, do not provoke, do not grumble against, do not envy...one another.
Another sentence in the handout says: Imagine you are in the catacombs of Rome in a time when Christianity is not valued. How can you live in it and follow Christ? This sentence struck me because we are able to come to a warm building with comfortable chairs and dont have to hide out in a cold catacomb. We are so blessed to be able to freely and without fear, walk into our church and worship using the Prayer Labyrinth, if we want to, making Maundy Thursday more meaningful.
I looked up some information on the prayer labyrinth for myself. A couple of things that the Wikipedia says are: the Prayer Labyrinth was adopted by the Church across Europe during the medieval times, being often used as a means to meditate, pray and connect with God in a higher spiritual way. Prayer Labyrinths were often viewed and modeled as a journey to Jerusalem and were even called Chemin de Jerusalem (Road of Jerusalem) serving as a spiritual pilgrimage for those who could not afford to travel to Jerusalem, the center of the world.
With the practice of walking the Prayer Labyrinth becoming popular again in contemporary Christianity, many Christian denominations from across the theological spectrum are again adopting the practice of walking the Prayer Labyrinth, with some churches opening their labyrinths to any pilgrim in need of contemplation and prayer, pointing out that the Prayer Labyrinth is not a maze and rather has one path on which one cannot get lost, serving a powerful symbol of individual life journeys and pilgrimage in faith.
Thank you Hannah for introducing us to the Prayer Labyrinth.
Sue
